International Polity - Current Affairs for January, 2017

International Polity Current Affairs for January, 2017

Month wise coverage of International Polity Current Affairs helps you improve your general knowledge and prepare for all competitive exams like IBPS, Bank PO, SBI PO, RRB, RBI, LIC, Specialist Officer, Clerk, SSC, UPSC, Railway etc. This section is updated daily with the most important events.

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The federal government's top lawyer, US Acting Attorney General Sally Yates had said Justice Department would not defend new travel restrictions targeting seven Muslim-majority nations.

This was because she was not convinced they were lawful.

Trump's directive on Friday put a 120-day hold on allowing refugees into the country,

He also placed an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria. Also included is a 90-day bar on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The White House dismissed her comments as rhetoric and said Trump acted within his presidential powers.

There have been only a handful of instances in US history of top Justice Department officials publicly breaking with the White House.

The most famous example was in 1973, when then-Attorney General Elliot Richardson resigned. He refused to obey President Richard Nixon's order to fire a special prosecutor investigating the Watergate scandal.

An internal Department of Homeland Security document showed 348 visa holders were kept from boarding US-bound flights this week. More than 200 people came to the United States but were denied entry.

More than 735 people were pulled aside for questioning by US Customs and Border Protection officers in airports, including 394 green card holders, who are legal permanent residents of US.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the country's biggest Muslim advocacy group, filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of more than 20 people.

Technology companies Amazon.com Inc and Expedia Inc , both of which are based in Washington state's Seattle area, will support the state's suit.

Microsoft Corp, said it has been cooperating with the attorney general's office to provide information about the order's impact to be supportive.

Other companies also went public with concerns, including the chief executives of Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Ford Motor Co.

The Iraqi parliament voted to ask the country's government to retaliate against the United States, putting at risk cooperation in the fight against Islamic State.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson joined a chorus of concern expressed by US allies, ranging from Iraq to Germany.

Also Muslim majority nations, where the Trump Organisation is active and which in some cases have faced troublesome issues with terrorism, do not figure in the list.

Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Yemen are targeted by U.S. President Donald Trump in his executive order on 27th Jan 2017.

These are the nations where he does not have any business interests.

The “extreme vetting” bars all entry by travellers from these countries for the next 90 days.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal watchdog group has filed a lawsuit arguing that Mr. Trump is already in violation of a constitutional provision barring federal officials from accepting payments from foreign officials.

The high-risk territories are based on Congressional statute and nothing else, a White House spokesperson said.

Trump has retained ownership of the company, meaning if it thrives during his presidency, he will profit.

Theresa May government has appointed a new ambassador to the EU, Sir Tim Barrow who faced down Vladimir Putin and is likely to move forward in Brussels.

Barrow has been appointed as Britain's new EU ambassador after a life-long career in the foreign office which saw him serve in senior roles twice before for Brussels.

He also held the post of Britain's ambassador to Moscow between 2011 and 2015; this marks one of the most testing periods in relations between the two nations.

Appointment of Sir Tim is in contrast to Sir Ivan Rogers who was termed a pessimist as opposed to Sir Tim who is a “pragmatic problem solver,” according to Downing Street ministers.

Sir Tim has also served as a rep to the EU Security Committee and as Ambassador to the Western European Union.

He was appointed political DG at the foreign office in March 2016 after leaving his role in Moscow. Rogers had a negative view of Brexit and possibly could not lead the negotiations after the PM triggers A50.

Crucial Dates in the Brexit Timeline

January 2017: SC to deliver verdict on whether May can trigger A50 using a royal prerogative rather than a Parliament Act.

March 31, 2017: Deadline set for invoking A50 by notifying the EC of Britain's intention to leave the EU.

Jovenel Moise has won the Haiti November 20th Presidential election, ending the protracted electoral paralysis that had gripped Caribbean country's politics for a year and more.

Haiti provisional electoral council on 3rd Jan 2016 indicated Moise was the majority winner with 55.6 percent of the votes, turnout being low at 21 percent.

Moise, a previously little known businessman ran on behalf of the Tet Kale party of former president Michel Martelly who ended term without an elected successor.

But Moise's major challengers - Jude Celestin, Jean-Charles Moise and Maryse Narcisse - also contested the preliminary results of the latest elections.

The final official results gave runner-up Celestin 19.57 percent, Jean-Charles Moise 11.04 percent and Narcisse 9.01 percent. Moise lacks popular support with just 21 percent of voters participating in the electoral process.

48-year-old Moise runs a banana export company; Setting it as a model for rural development, on the campaign trial he popularised himself as Banana Man.

He is to be sworn in on Feb 7, 2017 taking over from interim president Jocelerme Privert who came to power in 2016. An October 2015 vote saw Moise win but an independent commission found massive fraud. Moise came first, defeating 26 other candidates.

Moise's closest rival had 19.5 percent of the votes, according to council spokesperson Nicole Simeon. Supporters of other leading candidates marched in the capital's streets in protest of the electoral council's decision.

Fanmi Lavalas party supporters called for the placement of their candidate as president instead, while supporters of left-wing candidate Jean-Charles Moise also led protests after initial results were released in October, 2015.

Know More About Haiti

Capital: Port-au-Prince

Currency: Haitian gourde

Population: 10.32 million (2013) World Bank

Official languages: French, Haitian Creole French

Struggling to rebuild after hurricane in 2010, the country suffered major losses since.

More than 60 percent of people living in Haiti survive with less than two dollars per day.

Haiti has a debt of more than $2 billion.

Growth is expected to be just one percent in 2017, due to a lack of public and private investment.

In early October, Hurricane Matthew left damage of more than $2 billion in the south of the country.

US lawmakers voted to retain congressman Paul Ryan as speaker of the House of Representatives. He will be leading the 115th Congress before president elect Donald Trump's inauguration on 20th Jan 2017.

US House members voted 239 to 189 to re-elect Ryan to the key post over top Democrat and former speaker Nancy Pelosi.

5 other lawmakers voted for others. As speaker of the House, Ryan will lead the 2 year incoming session of the house. He had opposed Donald Trump during the Presidential race and even had refused to campaign with the him ahead of the November 2016 election.

Know More About the US Speaker's Office

Type: Presiding officer of one chamber in a bicameral legislature

Residence: Washington, D.C.

Seat: United States Capitol, District of Columbia, U.S.

Nominator: Those qualified to be a representative; in practice member of the house and party leadership.

Appointer: U.S. House of Representatives

Elected by the House, sworn in by the Dean

Term length: At the House's pleasure; elected at the start of each session, and upon a vacancy

President elect of the United States, Donald Trump named prominent trade attorney Robert Lighthizer as his chief trade negotiator. He will be in charge of negotiating deals and engaging in trade relationships with other countries.

Before this, Robert Lighthizer had served as the Deputy United States Trade Representative under the Ronald Regan administration and is known for harsh critic of China’s trade practices.

He has extensive experience in striking agreements that protect some of the most important sectors of the US. Lighthizer has repeatedly fought in the private sector to prevent bad deals from hurting Americans.

During his stint in the Regan Administration, he played a major role in developing trade policy and negotiating roughly two dozen bilateral international agreements on a variety of topics from grains to steel.

Socialist-democrat Sorin Grindeanu was on 30th Dec 2016 named as the PM of Romania.

Romanian president Klaus Iohannis signed the official decree naming Grindeanu as the new Prime Minister.

Iohannis turned down the appointment of Sevil Shhaideh, an economist who could have been the first female Muslim PM of Romania.

Grindeanu will now face the confidence vote in the Romanian Parliament on his programme and cabinet nominees.

Once the appointment has been approved, 10 days will be given to name the government ministers.

The appointment of Sorin Grindeanu as the Prime Minister will now put an end to a political crisis that was sparked by the Iohannis's rejection of Sevil Shhaideh as the Prime Minister.

The president offered no reasons for his rejection of Shhaideh.

Shhaideh's husband worked in the Syrian Agriculture Ministry for 20 years before emigrating to Romania in 2011.

Shhaideh's name was proposed by the Social Democratic Party after its thumping poll victory on in December 2016 elections when it won 45 percent of the vote that was enough to form a majority coalition with its partners The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE).

Know More About Sorin Grindeanu

Grindeanu is a member of the Social Democratic Party which has won the Dec 2016 elections.

He is also the Chairman of the Timis county council.

Grindeanu is seen in Romania as a disciplined soldier within the Social Democratic Party ranks and has joined the party when he was young for his Leftist convictions.

Graduated from the Faculty of Mathematics in Timirsoara West University in 1997 and served as the Minister of Telecommunications and Information Society in Victor Ponta's cabinet.

Pakistan is denying wrongdoing in connection with the nuclear or missile programme.

US government held that there was reasonable cause to believe on specific and articulable facts that government, parastatal and private entities in Pakistan are determined to be involved in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy of the US.

The conduct of these 7 entities raised concerns regarding the prior review of the exports, re-exports or transfers of item subject to the EAR involving these persons.

A possible imposition of license conditions or license denials on shipments to persons will enhance the ability of the department to prevent EAR violations.

The placement on the list imposes a license requirement for all items subject to the EAR and license review policy of the presumption of denial.

The license requirements apply to any transaction in which items are to be exported, re-exported, or transferred to any of the entities or in which such entities act as purchaser, intermediate consignee, ultimate consignee or end user.

No license exceptions are available for exports, re-exports or transfers to persons being added to the entity list in this rule.

Restrictions will apply to acronyms used by entities to help exporters, re-exporters and transferors.

Notification does not specify the violations committed by these entities and does not provide details of items exported, imported or re-exported by them.

China has once again blocked India’s proposal in United Nations to list Pathankot terror attack Mastermind Jaish-e-Muhammad’s Chief Masood Azhar as a global designated terrorist under 1267 Sanctions Committee.

This is third time China has put technical hold to declare Pakistan based JeM Chief global terrorist. China was the only member in the 15-nation UN Security Council (UNSC) to put a hold on India’s application.

All other 14 members of the UNSC supported India’s bid to place Azhar on the 1267 sanctions list that would subject freezing his assests and travel ban.

India has expressed concern over China move and mentioned that it confirms prevalence of double standards of China in the fight against terrorism.

Masood Azhar

Masood Azhar is the founder and leader of the UN-designated terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed.

It is active mainly in the Pakistani administered Azad Kashmir.

Born: July 10, 1968 (age 48), Bahawalpur, Pakistan

Organizations founded: Jaish-e-Mohammed, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen

Chronology of events

Former human rights lawyer Nana Akufo-Addo (72) was sworn in as new president of Ghana.

President-elect Donald Trump accepts the US intelligence community's conclusion that Russia engaged in cyber attacks during the US presidential election and may take action in response, as per his chief of staff on 8th Jan 2016.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has entered into a Bilateral Advance Pricing Agreement (BAPA) on the with Indian subsidiary of a Japanese trading company.

Leaders of Australia and Japan have agreed to boost cooperation between their militaries; Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull signed an upgraded defence agreement

China has made it clear that the One China policy is non-negotiable and no one can change it.

US President Donald Trump has signed first executive order which targets his predecessor’s health care reforms, Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare).

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to formally pull US out of the negotiating process of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a massive trade deal of 12 Pacific Rim countries.